My parents were pretty much ski bums, and they moved to the mountains to ski and get away from the city. They both worked here at the Mammoth ski school. Later my dad became a patroller. Since they were both employed by the resort, I had a free pass every year of my life. I started skiing at three years old and don’t really remember life without being on the hill. When I was about nine, it got too serious-Billy (brother) and I just wanted to have fun, so we started snowboarding. We rode at June Mountain the first time, and within a year or so, I didn’t ski anymore.

At first, I tried to get sponsored by Sims-after riding with me, Tom Sims said he’d put me on the team. He wrote my phone number down on this little piece of paper that probably got crumpled up and lost. He never called me. My first sponsor was actually Bert Lamar when he first started Lamar Snowboards. I was eleven-I remember because he signed me to a seven-year contract, basically until I was eighteen, which is pretty funny to think of now.

I’ve always been on the snow-always been a snowboarder. It’s who I am. The fact that I’ve been riding and living this life since I was so young has really shaped me. I guess it all starts with my parents-the love of the mountains, and them wanting to raise a family based on that.

I definitely plan on doing other things in my life, but will always ride and have a place in Mammoth. I’ve learned that you don’t need to be part of the rat race. This lifestyle-away from congestion and people and cars-is better for me. I love cities and will probably spend some time in that environment, but not for long. I see myself living quietly in a small town, for sure.

Was there a lot of competition between you and your big brother Billy growing up?

Yeah. We were always super competitive. But more than anything, he took care of me-we were like a team. He handled all the money, all the travel arrangements-he did everything. I couldn’t have asked for a better brother.

There are these two photos in my mom’s house from the early days. Billy’s grabbing roastbeef, and I’m grabbing nose. Back in the day, if you couldn’t grab your nose, you weren’t really a freestyle-guy. Billy couldn’t really grab there, but he raced and was really fast. So Billy was kind of the racer, and even though he was good at freestyle, he kinda let me have it.

So you started traveling for snowboarding as a grom?

I was twelve years old on my first trip-to Mt. Bachelor with Carla Dalpiaz, Brian Harper, and Gilligan Yoder. It was for the PSTA (Pro Snowboard Tour of America) finals. Everyone was there-Steve Graham, Sean Johnson, even Jimi Scott. I was hanging around in the condo wearing (Mike) Ranquet’s leather jacket.

Johnson ripped up all my magazines, poured beer on me, and made me cry. I called home to tell my mom, and Billy was making fun of me. That night, when Johnson passed out, I colod all over him with markers and got him back. He chased me down in the morning, but it was all in fun. They destroyed the condo-kiwis splattered on the walls, it was out of hand.

How did you connect with the Volcom guys?

Richard Woolcott and Tucker Hall started Volcom-just punks-kids. They came to Mammoth to ride and went into Storm Riders-the local shop slinging their gear. At first they were going to sponsor Billy, but he got on Quik. I kinda asked, “Can I be on Volcom?” They were like, “Sure.”

Some of the Volcom stuff, like the first movie, Alive We Ride (’92), was before we were jumping big jumps-before snowboard parks even. You didn’t have to get as gnarly, and it was easy for those guys to come up here from So Cal and film. The Garden (’94) developed from that. It was named after “The Butterfly Garden,” which is Sonora Pass. Mike Parillo, Bryan Iguchi, and Todd Hazeltine were the first people to go out there and film. It was the best stuff ever, and that trip was crazy-a two-week deal and Haakonsen was out there for the first week. I ditched school-got busted and grounded, and couldn’t go to The Garden with Haakon. I missed out-we didn’t even do anything good when we ditched.

Those were the days … we were just kids, like thirteen and fourteen. We were best friends-a team really, but it was because we were friends and everyone got along. It was me, Janna, Joel, Ben, Jason Toth, and Billy. There were no video parts to worry about-just going out and having fun. I was never very good at causing trouble, but Joel and Ben were-we raised hell.

Do you think there’s too much pressure now?

Well, the Olympics have really set the stage for the sport getting so serious. When Haakonsen made his decision not to be part of it, and said, “Hey, we’re not skiers, we’re not going to do this,” I would’ve done the same. But then, everyone wants to be an Olympian-I did, too. So it’s come to this-serious business where everyone needs an agent. The example set by the three Americans, though, was amazing. They did a really good job of handling themselves and the pressure. The Nestea commercial was pretty bad, but whatever.

I really think that the snowboard influence-the actual riders, the hardcore snowboarders-as long as these people keep doing gnarly stuff, it will always be cool. As long as people are putting their bodies on the line and pushing it, riding and working together to progress the sport-it’s never going to get too organized. It’ll never end up like skiing or judged like figure skating. There’s way too much creativity and individuality for that.

On the subject of creativity, talk about art.

For me, a lot of the art influence came from The Garden. One night we were all out there with this sunset-some crazy shit was going on. I don’t want to sound like a f-king hippie, but there was definitely somewhat of a spiritual vibe in the air. All of us decided to hike up to the top of the mountain behind our campsite to watch the sunset. We were clamoring up the front of this thing like wild animals. Jamie Lynn-by himself-just walks up a ridge and beats us to the top. For some reason, that made a huge impression on me.

From then on, Jamie was a huge influence-he did his own thing, followed his own path. He’s an artistic person. Richard Woolcott and all those guys were really into art and were all part of that time. It really hit me that art is real-not bullshit. It affects people.

My dream is to become a fine artist. I’ve always been creative and tried to pursue it, but I feel like maybe I’m not good enough. Snowboarding in some ways has prevented me from concentrating solely on art, but I really want to be able focus on it-the way I have on snowboarding in my life so far.

Do you feel like life is on hold until snowboarding is over?

I’ve stopped my whole life for snowboarding.

But your whole life is snowboarding.

Exactly. I am about snowboarding and will always make decisions based on my love for it. The reason I’m a pro and doing this interview right now is because I want snowboarding to be cool for the future. I’d work at a restaurant at night and ride every day and never leave Mammoth, but I’ve had these opportunities you can’t turn away from.

A lot of people support our government without really asking what we’re doing in relation to the rest of the world. I don’t want to degrade the tragedy of September eleventh-everyone knows and agrees that it was a terrible situation. But the government and limited media really stole a chance for the United States to reflect upon how we affect other countries and the world. That was a wake-up call. Sure, we’re great and doing lots of good things, but what have we done wrong? Why is there so much hatred toward us, and what can we do to prevent these things?

A lot of people are afraid to talk about this stuff, but all we have to do is get it out in the open-among friends. There’s a vote for us if everyone could come together. This is a free country, we can say what we want and no one’s going to kill us for it. We need to think of new ways to fix these old problems. Britney Spears is hot, don’t get me wrong, but there’s more to life than snowboarding and sitting at home watching TV.

Last season was a strong one for you. How did it all work out?

Blotto-my team manager-really helped. He brought me to Salt Lake and put me in an environment where I felt comfortable riding. I found a good crew that pushed me and didn’t judge me. I learned to really trust Blotto and know he’s looking out for my best interests. Shane Charlebois, who films for Kingpin, was also part of it. He used to ride for Burton back in the day, and we did some trips together then. So it was great to go and film with him-he’s a good friend. Salt Lake is a great environment-Mikey LeBlanc is there, Seth Huot, Matty Ryan, those kids are sick-it was fun to see a tight-knit little scene. My main crew was Ali Goulet and Marc Frank. Watching how Marc handles himself at a jump and takes care of business is impressive. To finally be put in this position was amazing.

What took so long?

To tell you the truth, in my mind, I turned pro this year. It’s the first time I’m really a pro. One main flaw in this industry a few years ago was the fact that everyone was professional. You get 200 dollars a month at fourteen, and you think you’re hot shit. Most kids don’t even reach their peak and think they hit it four years ago. A line needs to be drawn-amateurs should turn pro when they can get the work done. Everyone knows who is good, but the expectations should be different. Do it right the first time, and make sure to have all the tools when you step up to the plate and really push it. There’s a lot to learn, and there’s responsibility.